Fight Night

The final chapters resolve the theme of The Good Fight: Finding Joy. Swiv is as much a fighter as Mom and Grandma. Not only does she accompany her Grandma on this trip to Fresno, but she also overcomes her anxiety regarding flying, her fears on the boat with Lou and Ken, and her own hesitant response to sexual attraction. She is attracted to the teenage boy who offers to drive Grandma to her sister’s old house and to Ken’s. Even though Swiv is still somewhat embarrassed by this reality, she has set aside some of her initial reactions of repulsion, showing a degree of maturity that was not present earlier in the narrative. She also takes on the task of caring for Grandma in a space outside of the home, insisting that Grandma have a wheelchair and quick access to a bathroom while traveling. She tries to drive them back to Ken’s house after Grandma’s fall, an action that simultaneously symbolizes her resolve and the outsized burdens placed on her as a child.

The most important aspect of Swiv’s dawning understanding is that she slowly begins to understand Grandma’s stories. When Swiv is composing the history of Grandma’s life, she records the annals of the fight that has been the defining feature of Grandma’s world. Grandma tries to explain her despair after her family’s suicides, for example, and then tells Swiv that she eventually made some peace with those events: “[Grandma] needed to understand that they had no choice in their minds. [Grandpa and Momo] had fought and fought. They had their own fight” (204). Independent agency, even if destructive, remains significant. Grandma reminds Swiv of her own fire, as well: “But that’s life!” she says, “It’s been good! I’ve been lucky!” (204). These are the same kinds of words that Swiv will convey to Gord, and Gord’s birth coinciding with Grandma’s death symbolizes the continuation of the matrilineal line.

These final chapters also again reveal The Limits of Language: Expressing the Unspeakable. Swiv does not understand everything that Grandma and her friends say. First, she is surprised to hear everyone repeat the idea that Mom—who Swiv has only known as an emotional burden—is strong. She reflects on what it means to her: “I wondered if I was strong” (208). Swiv is starting to become self-aware in a way that she was not at the beginning of the novel, another example of her character development. Second, Swiv notes that Grandma “[speaks] to [her friends] in their secret language” (209). Thus, some of the conversations between Grandma and the former members of her village are literally incomprehensible—not only to Swiv but also to the reader, who must interpret everything through Swiv’s point of view. This emphasizes how language is not always adequate for the task of remembrance.

The limitations of Swiv’s ability to understand and the incidents at the nursing home reveal both Swiv’s and Grandma’s vulnerability: Grandma falls while trying to entertain her old friends, and Swiv is not yet old enough to be responsible for bringing them home. Most importantly, Swiv cannot prevent what will be the most significant events in her life to date. Gord will be born early, though healthy, and Grandma will die. Dad will likely never come home, but Swiv’s coming of age comes to fruition as she starts to understand Mom. Her experience in Fresno, talking to relatives who know Mom in different contexts, gives Swiv a different perspective. As she tells Mom when Grandma first enters the hospital, “I looked at Mom looking at Grandma. I watched her for a long time. You’re strong, I said” (229). For the first time, Swiv recognizes Mom rather than trying to care for or shrink from her. This moment of unity is symbolized by all four family members cuddling in the same hospital bed: three generations coming together.

After Grandma is gone, Mom and Swiv’s relationship becomes different. Mom starts to become more responsible in caring for her children, and Swiv begins to understand that she has had to become an adult far too young. When she falls to her knees after finding some of Grandma’s old pills, it represents her grief not only over Grandma’s death but also over her lost childhood. Nonetheless, she will continue fighting as she promised Gord.